Leonardo inaugurates its new airborne systems facility in Italy

Jul 26, 2017: Leonardo, a global high technology company and key player in Aerospace, Defence & Security officially launched its airborne systems facility in L’Aquila, Italy.

“The opening of a new industrial park, where state-of-the-art technologies are developed by highly skilled, specialist staff, is a concrete symbol of Leonardo’s commitment to the revival of the Abruzzo region’s economy” said CEO Profumo, adding “The expertise of our people here in L’Aquila contributed to Leonardo having recently been awarded a major contract by the UK Ministry of Defence to upgrade the Identification Fried/Foe (IFF) systems on more than 350 aircraft, ships and ground emplacements. We are confident that this site will be an important driver for growth in the region”.

Leonardo started reconstruction of the site instantly after an earthquake in 2009 that damaged the structural integrity of the original buildings. During the re-building, employees were provisionally moved to facilities at the Tecnopolo d'Abruzzo industrial park to keep production on schedule and ensure stability for customers and suppliers.

The new site, which was completed with the support of the Abruzzo regional authorities, covers an area of 4,500 square metres. Built to high standards that include earthquake resistant construction, the site is also highly energy efficient and can produce electricity from renewable sources.

Activities at the new L’Aquila base are focused on the design and certification of Identification Friend/Foe systems for civilian and military aircraft and equipment for airborne communications. Technologies developed on-site are particularly vital to military operations as they permit pilots to automatically recognise ‘allied’ aircraft and to exchange information with them.